In a tragic turn of events, 14 construction workers were killed and many others injured after a truck rammed into a pickup van on the Sylhet-Dhaka Highway in Nazir Bazar of Dakshin Surma upazila of Sylhet on Wednesday.
Thirteen of the victims were from Sunamganj while two of those killed are women. The pick-up van with up to 30 construction workers -- many of them as young as 22 -- was heading towards Tajpur, police said.
This comes despite the carrying of passengers on such vehicles being prohibited.
The deceased are Rashid Ali, 25, Dulam Mia, 26, Shahin Mia, 40, Haris Mia, 65, Amina Begum, 45, Sayed Noor, 50, Awlad Hossain, 60, Eklim Mia, 55, Sijil Mia, 55, Saurabh Mia, 27, Islam Mia, 27, Meher, 24, Dudu Mia, 40, and Badshah, 22.
The accident occurred around 5:30am in the Kutubpur area, said Md Samsuddoha, officer-in-charge of Dakkhin Surma police station.
“Eleven of them died on the spot. And the injured were taken to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, where the doctor on duty declared four of them dead,” he added.
On information, a team of firefighters rushed there and took the victims to the hospital with the help of police.
Traffic in that part of the highway came to a halt for two and a half hours following the accident, causing a long tailback there. However, vehicular movement resumed around 8am after police intervention.
Later in the day, the bodies were handed to the victims' families without an autopsy. Nine of the deceased were buried in Derai upazila of Sunamganj last night.
Sylhet Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner Masud said that the drivers of both vehicles were drowsy. “Also, the pick-up van driver violated the ban on carrying passengers. So, we'll start a drive against such a practice soon,” he said.
The drivers managed to flee the scene soon after the accident.
‘Heavy air' at hospital
Deceased Saurabh's father Siraj Noor was fainting repeatedly on the hospital premises.
When he regained consciousness, Siraj said: “My son will not hug me anymore. He is lost forever. How will I survive now?”
He was sobbing sitting beside the hospital morgue as one of his colleagues was trying to console him.
The air in the morgue in the hospital became heavy with the lamentations of the families of the victims.
The district administration gave Tk20,000 to the families of each deceased and Tk10,000 to the families of each injured person.
Awami League candidate for the Sylhet city polls Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury donated Tk25,000 each to the families of the victims
Meanwhile, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury rushed to the hospital to visit the victims, assuring their families of all kinds of government assistance.
Our Sylhet Correspondent Mohammed Serajul Islam contributed to this report.